Rocks and Hard Places
by Dolphingirl32173
Summary: Elena is constantly finding herself trapped between rocks and hard places and only one man has repeatedly come to her rescue while the one who should keeps walking away. Her mom taught her to give trust only when she receives it in return. But only one man seems to understand that concept. FULL SUMMARY INSIDE! Damon/Elena, side plate of Jeremy
1. The Choice is Made

Rocks and Hard Places  
DG32173

Sarah: just a random idea I had. I hope everyone enjoys. Reviews are most welcome. If enough people like this fanfic, I'll consider writing it from Damon's view.

_**DISCLAIMER**_  
I only own what I write and I don't make money for writing it. This is the only disclaimer for the whole fanfic.

_**WARNINGS**_  
ALTERNATE UNIVERSE! Alters from storyline early in Season 2. Rated M for my sanity, not that I have any. Elena's viewpoint.

_**SUMMARY**_  
Elena is constantly finding herself trapped between rocks and hard places and only one man has repeatedly come to her rescue while the one who _should_ keeps walking away. Her mom taught her to give trust only when she receives it in return. But only one man seems to understand that concept. So she makes the hardest choice of all and lets go of the one she can't depend on and begins the hardest fight of her life: the fight to be with the man she has grown to love… _**Elena/Damon**_

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Chapter 1  
The Choice is Made

I groan, massaging my forehead as I try to keep from breaking down. I had just made the hardest decision I've ever made: I've decided to break things off with Stefan, permanently. I can't handle this on-again-off-again thing he's trying to pull just because Katherine is back and making threats against me. I didn't tell the Salvatore brothers to fall in love with me. But she seems to think it's _my_ fault that they are now pining over me instead of her.

Top that off with the fact that Stefan doesn't even _trust_ me to be faithful to him. Sure, he _says_ it's _Damon_ he doesn't trust, but he doesn't trust that I won't give in to Damon's charms. Sure, it's a huge temptation that I've been resisting since our trip to Georgia, but I will never _willingly_ break trust given to me. The _only_ reason I did what I did to Damon was because Stefan half-strangled me with my necklace and I was scared to death that he would rip it off and compel me to do it. I haven't been able to fully trust Stefan since then. Especially not after what he did at the Miss Mystic Falls pageant.

I sigh as my body instinctively relaxes. Only one person has ever had that effect on me in my entire life. "What do you want, Damon?" I ask without opening my eyes.

"Just came to see how you're holding up," he replies smoothly. I feel my bed shift slightly as he takes a seat next to me.

"How do you _think_ I'm doing? My _boyfriend_ just decided _again_ that it is too dangerous for him to be with me just because his ex made some threats against me," I growl.

"Her fangs _did_ get a little too close to your throat for comfort today," he reminds me.

I open my eyes, prop myself up, and give him a 'look'. "Damon, apparently you're just as blind as your brother. She was bluffing," I tell him. "She _knew_ what you two would do if she vamped out while holding me like that. I could see it in her eyes. She and I look _exactly_ alike. I know her expressions as well as I know my own. I could see that she was toying with us just to get her way. The problem with Katherine is she's a spoiled brat and too damned used to getting her way whatever way she has to. I am quite willing to slap her off that damned pedestal she put herself on."

Damon winces. "You could get killed doing something like that," he points out.

"You didn't kill me when I knocked you off _your_ pedestal," I point out. He winces again. "One day, an older and stronger vampire is going to get annoyed with her pretenses and knock her around a bit to teach her a lesson. And I'm going to laugh my ass off when that happens. Damon, if she wanted me dead, I'd _be_ dead. You told me yourself that not even _you_ would be able to stop her because the older a vampire is, the more powerful they are. You said she has four centuries on you, so that makes her pretty damn powerful. Isobel was _sent_ to you when she wanted to become a vampire. Only one name comes to mind that could have known where you were and sent her in your direction," I tell him. His eyes widen in surprise as he realizes exactly who I'm talking about. "I'm descended from Katherine, I just know I am. Which means Isobel was _also_ descended from her. Katherine seems to have this 'thing' about family. If she was _really_ going to rip my throat out today, I'd be dead right now. She _let_ you pull me from her grasp. You said it yourself: she loves playing games. This whole thing is one big game and the three of us are just pawns to her. I am not going to play the part of a pawn any longer. She's had plenty of opportunity to come in this house and kill everyone here. She was _invited in._ But she hasn't once been back since the night she cut John's fingers off. My bet is that he pissed her off when he tried to kill you and Stefan and succeeded in killing Anna. She's possessive. She doesn't like people messing with what she considers to belong to her. And I hate to say it, but she has decided that you and Stefan still belong to her in some way. John tried to kill you. So she chopped his fingers off in a warning. I was alone in this house with her because Jeremy had decided to turn himself in his room and John was unconscious from blood loss. If she was as pissed as she pretends to be that you and Stefan have switched your attentions from her to me, she would have killed me right then and there, before the police and ambulance showed up. But she didn't. I think she's the one who alerted me to Jeremy's decision. It certainly wasn't _him_ that I heard make a noise."

"What are you saying?" Damon demands.

"I'm saying that she's _not_ going to kill me. She may threaten to, but if she wanted me dead, I'd _be_ dead. This is a game to her and I'm _sick_ of being a pawn," I growl, turning on my side away from him. "If she wants Stefan so badly and he's not going to be man enough to even _try_ to fight to stay with me, then he's not worth my time and she can fucking _have_ him. I've given up fighting for a relationship that _obviously_ isn't that important to him."

"I hate being his advocate in this, but my brother _does_ care about you, Elena," Damon remarks, taking the empty space behind me as an invitation to kick his boots off and lay down next to me.

"He doesn't trust me," I whisper brokenly.

Damon jerks up next to me and I can feel his eyes on me. "What makes you so sure of _that?"_ he demands.

I turn and look up into his ice blue eyes. "If he trusted me, he wouldn't be so damned jealous every damn time I speak to another guy. And it's not just you that he gets jealous about, though you're the most frequent cause of his jealousy. And it's all because I look like Katherine. I just know it. _Every_ time he sees me talking to another guy, he thinks back on what happened between you, him, and Katherine. He's so damned determined that there isn't a repeat of that scenario that he's actually sabotaging our relationship with his jealousy. I'm sick and tired of fighting to be in a relationship that is being sabotaged by his jealousy when he isn't even willing to fight to stay be my side. Every time I hang up the phone in his company, I'm suddenly facing the third degree about the call. It's even worse when he sees me talking to a guy. I can't handle such treatment and I won't continue to try. Especially not when he's so damn willing to walk away if he even _thinks_ I might be in danger by being his girlfriend. My mom's favorite saying was 'Trust for Trust'. To be able to give your trust to someone, you have to be able to get it in return. She said that is the _only_ way any form of relationship can work out positively. It didn't matter if it was siblings or parents and their children, friends, or even your significant other. All of those relationships can _only_ be positives if trust was given and received by both parties. That's what Mom and Dad taught me and Jer and how we were raised. We all trusted each other. When Jeremy read my diary to confirm what Anna told him about my knowledge of the supernatural, he repeated those words to me. Trust for Trust. He reminded me that those words worked both ways. I wasn't able to bring myself to trust him with this knowledge and he couldn't trust me to tell him the truth. Admittedly, I thought I was protecting him, but look where _that_ got us. When they say relationships are all about trust, they're right. Stefan doesn't know _how_ to trust someone. And I can't trust him to stay by my side through whatever is thrown at us. Katherine's games proved that much."

We stare into each other's eyes silently for several long minutes before Damon sighs. "Trust for Trust, eh?" he ask, running a hand through his hair.

"Trust for Trust," I reply. "I placed my full trust in you when I took off my necklace and told you that you could compel me to tell you the truth in order to earn your trust back. You've never done _anything_ to break my trust. You've never lied to me. You've always been there for me when I needed you the most and I usually didn't even have to call. You'd just show up, somehow knowing that I needed a friend. And the thing with the Miss Mystic Falls pageant should have made it painfully obvious who I could trust and who I couldn't. I was never a fan of denial and I've been wallowing in it too damn much lately. It's time to stopping denying the facts and face them head on." I push myself into a sitting position, bringing my face inches from his. "I want you to find me a new piece of jewelry to lace with vervaine. If I'm going to end things with Stefan, I am going to have to return the necklace. If I don't, he'll think I might go back to him. And I won't."

He smirks. "I've been wondering when you'd give up that piece of junk. I happen to have something that will work quite nicely," he says, reaching into his jacket pocket and pulling out a white velvet jewelry box and passing it to me.

I chuckle. "Been carrying that around a while?" I ask, taking the jewelry box.

He places his hand on mine to stop me from opening it. "Before you open that, I want you to know that this set once belonged to mine and Stefan's mother. She gave it to me just hours before she died giving birth to Stefan. She told me that I would know it when I find the girl I would give these to. I never once thought of giving them to Katherine, but I can't help thinking that _you'd_ look great wearing them. And don't you _dare_ refuse them, Elena," he warns me when I open my mouth to protest. "I've been thinking about giving them to you for a few months now; I've just been waiting for the perfect opportunity. They're my gift to you, and I will not take them back."

I give him an exasperated smile. "Since you insist, I guess I have no choice but to accept," I chuckle as he moves his hand away so that I can open the jewelry box, which I do. My jaw drops at the white-gold three-dimensional heart locket hanging from a platinum chain with sterling silver inlay and matching earrings. "These must be worth a fortune! I… I can't take these!" I protest, looking up into his amused gaze.

"And yet more proof that you and Katherine have _nothing_ in common except looks," he remarks dryly. "Elena, I'm not taking them back. They belong to you now. They're already loaded with dried vervaine, which hurt like _hell_ to get in there, might I add. They're also enchanted."

"Enchanted?" I ask dubiously.

"A witch I met about a decade after I turned told me that they had already been enchanted against all forms of damage. Then she insisted on adding a few additional enchantments. Once you put those on, only you and I will be able to touch them, so you will never have to fear having them snatched from you so that a vampire could compel you." He reaches into his shirt and pulls out a pendant that matches the set he had given me. "The witch also made this for me to wear. Using this pendant, that necklace, and a map, you and I will _always_ be able to find each other, so don't you _dare_ take off that jewelry once you put it on. I should warn you, though, that the witch said you and I will be able to have a sense of what the other is feeling once you put Mother's jewelry on. _That_ wasn't my idea, it was the witch's."

I find my eyebrows flying towards my hairline. "You'd actually share your emotions with me?" I asks in surprise.

He shrugs. "A first for me, I assure you. Not something I'd do with just anyone," he admits. "But it would be a lot easier on me to know that you're alright when I'm not around to protect you."

I unfasten the necklace Stefan gave me and lay it down on my bed. Then I carefully lift the necklace Damon gave me from it's case and pass it to him. "Help me with this?" I ask softly.

He smirks. "With pleasure," he replies as I turn around and lift my hair out of the way. He gently puts the necklace around my neck and fastens it there. His hands stroke my skin a _lot_ more than they had to, but I don't comment on it. It's Damon, after all. He's a law unto himself. "There you go," he says, turning me towards him. "You look amazing in the necklace. Now just add the earrings and let me see."

I chuckle. "You're acting like a kid on his birthday," I remark, carefully removing the earrings I was wearing and replacing them with the earrings Damon gave me.

"I feel like it _is_ my birthday," he admits. "I gave you a gift and you're not fighting too much about it." He studies me critically as I finish fastening the second earring in place. "You look splendid," he tells me.

As soon as I pull my hands away from the earring, I suddenly get bombarded by a powerful second set of emotions and realize that I'm feeling an echo of Damon's emotions. I realize with awe just how vulnerable Damon had made himself by giving the jewelry to me. He just raises an eyebrow at me and smirks as I sort through his emotions. Primarily is contentment and a feeling of safety. I'm startled to realize that he actually feels _safe_ around me. Beneath that is an overwhelming love that nearly knocks me on my back. It's one thing to know _intellectually_ that he loves me. But it's an entirely different thing to _feel_ just how all-consuming that love is. Damon once told me that vampire emotions are a _lot_ more powerful than human emotions. I have to agree with that. This echo of his emotions is like getting hit with a ton of bricks after living all my life with just meager human emotions to go on. But I continue sorting through his emotions, ignoring my own for now. After that overwhelming love that I can barely comprehend comes intense worry for my safety. I suddenly realize that he's silently _helping_ me comprehend his emotions. I meet his eyes in shock. He nods slightly, confirming my thought. "Can you read my mind now?" I demand.

He chuckles at that and I feel an echo of his amusement. "No. You're wearing vervaine, remember? I'm getting an echo of your emotions just the same as you're getting an echo of mine," he tells me. "When I sense your confusion over one of my emotions, I focus on it to let you get a better grasp of what it is."

"I think I've delved into your emotions enough for one night," I say dryly.

He chuckles. "I've forgotten just how much difference the intensity is between human emotions and vampire emotions," he admits. He raises an eyebrow. "Care to share the experience?" he asks softly.

I know what he's asking. He wants to delve into my emotions like I had delved into his. I squash the jolt of uncertainty that flows through me, reminding myself that he had been more open with me in these past few minutes than he has been with _anyone_ in his life. "Sure," I say, closing my eyes and focusing first on how his presence makes me feel. My body always instinctively relaxes when he is close. Now I let him _feel_ just how much comfort and security I get from his presence. I feel his surprise at just how much I have grown to trust him. Then I let him feel the gratitude I have for his willingness to be this open with me from here on. I grit my teeth but I let him get a taste of my feelings _for_ him. Those confusing and conflicting emotions have been tearing me apart for months now. It's almost a relief to let them be known. The intense longing to be in his arms, to stand by his side for eternity. The need to be wanted and needed the way he wants and needs me. The gratitude that he lets me make decisions for myself rather than shoving his opinions down my throat as Stefan does. The tender seedlings that could be the start of a love for him that would be as great as his love for me, for all that I'm human. The fear for his life I get when he makes rash decisions that could get him killed. The joy that our easy friendship brings me. The comfort in the knowledge that I am free to be myself around him without having to worry that he'll be disappointed in me. The relief I get when I am able to let loose and be a wild child and he's right there with me, having just as much fun. The amusement I feel that he and I share the same tastes in liquor, both loving bourbon and both hating scotch, which Stefan disgustingly loves. I let him feel the overwhelming relief I feel at no longer being tied down by Stefan. And, lastly, I think back on the feelings I had gotten when I danced with him at the Miss Mystic Falls pageant. The raging desire and want that had sent everything else to another plane of existence. Then I let my emotions promise him a chance to turn those seedlings of love into a blossoming garden of intense love and passion.

"Thank you," he whispers and his immense gratitude for that chance echoes within me.

"Let me make this breakup with Stefan official first," I tell him softly. I sigh but square my shoulders and pick up the necklace Stefan had given me. "Might as well do it now and get it over with." I push myself off the bed and grab my jacket and purse from my chair.

"You sure about this?" he asks softly.

"I'm sure that I'm fed up with being put through an emotional rollercoaster every damn time it looks like I might be in the least bit of danger," I reply, turning to see him by the window. "I'm sure that I'm fed up with being lied to constantly. Lies do not keep me safe. They just put me and everyone I care for in more danger. I can't _trust_ him, Damon. I can't _trust_ him to tell me the truth. I can't _trust_ him to be there when I need him. I need to be able to _trust_ the man I'm with. And I just can't do that with Stefan. It's been a downhill slide since the night you decided to take me to Georgia. And I'm finally going to put a stop to it by getting out from under his thumb. He doesn't let me make choices; he shoves his decisions down my throat and forces me to abide by them. I never wanted to lie to you about being able to trust him about the grimiore, but he wouldn't back down until I promised to lie. I've only broken one promise in my life and that resulted in my parents drowning. I refuse to break another promise." I rake a hand through my hair in frustration. "That isn't love and I'm going to stop pretending that it is. He doesn't trust that I won't betray him and I _can't_ trust him for anything. Jer was right when he said 'Trust for Trust' works both ways. And Mom was right when she said that trust is what makes any relationship a positive one."

I slide into my jacket while Damon watches me. Then I grab a piece of paper and a pen and write a quick note to Jenna, telling her that I'll be with Damon and not to worry. She and I already had a similar talk about the termination of my relationship with Stefan this afternoon. She gave me the reluctant go ahead to listen to my heart, even if she didn't like who my heart was trying to lead me to. Then I hesitate for a moment.

Damon raises an eyebrow at me. "Why are you hesitating?" he asks softly.

I make the snap decision to tell him what Jenna suggested. "I told Jenna a watered-down version of what's been going on between the three of us. She suggested that once I break up with Stefan, I should go on another road trip with you to just get away from everything that's been going on," I tell him. "She wasn't very _happy_ about the way things have turned out, but she promised not to shove her opinions down my throat."

"What about high school?" he asks, smirking.

I roll my eyes at him. "If things turn out the way they are heading, I'll have eternity to finish high school," I tell him with a wry smile.

I feel the echo of his immense surprise. "You'd do that for me?" he asks softly, obviously stunned.

"If things work out between us, I'd definitely ask you to change me. I wouldn't want to grow old and die on you," I tell him warmly. I sigh. "But first, I need to permanently end things with Stefan. Then I want you to take me on the road to get away from everything that's been going on."

"Pack your bags, kitten," he says with a grin. "It just so happens that I actually brought my car with me this time."

I sigh. "First, I need to write a letter," I say softly. He lets his confusion echo at me forcefully. "I can't face him right now. Not after the fight we had. So I'll write a letter, telling him everything he did that has sabotaged our relationship. I'll have Jenna give it to him for me."

Damon nods in understanding. He was there to witness the explosive rage I turned on Stefan as soon as Katherine left. Stefan wasn't _nearly_ as angry, but he _was_ pissed. Things had been said on both sides that had escalated the fight to the point where Damon had to vamp me out of there. I sigh, taking a seat at my desk and pulling out some paper and a pen. I don't even bother to think before I begin writing.

_Stefan,_

_I'm not going to apologize for the fight we had. I meant every word I said. I had Jenna give this letter and the necklace to you because Damon's getting me out of town. I don't know when we'll be back. I don't like doing it this way. I feel like I'm taking the chicken way out of this, but the thought of going to you right now to tell you all this makes my blood boil._

_We're over, Stefan. Don't go thinking that when things 'die down' with Katherine, I'll be waiting with open arms to welcome you back. I've had it with all your lies and controlling tendencies. I have my own thoughts and dreams. And don't go thinking that Damon compelled me into this. I'm still wearing vervaine jewelry. It's just no longer the one you gave me. Damon gave me the jewelry your mother left him and he's already loaded it with vervaine. What's more, this jewelry has been enchanted so that he and I are the only ones who can touch it. No one will be able to snatch it from me so that they can compel me._

_My mom taught me that the most important thing in a positive relationship is trust. Her favorite saying was 'Trust for Trust'. To give trust, you have to receive it in return. You don't trust me. Now, don't go acting defensive and saying that you do. If you trusted me, you wouldn't give me the third degree about every call I make or every guy I talk to. If you trusted me, you wouldn't constantly think back on what happened between you,, Damon, and Katherine. I'm __not__ Katherine. I don't betray trust that's given to me willingly. And I hate to say this, but I _can't_ trust you. You lie to me so much that I'm stuck analyzing every word that comes out of your mouth, trying to detect if your lying to me again. Lies don't 'protect' me, Stefan. All they do is put me and everyone I care about in more danger than necessary because I don't know what's going on. And I can't trust you to stay by my side through it all. What happened with Katherine proved _that.

_Katherine was bluffing when she put her fangs next to my throat. She _let_ Damon pull me out of her arms. She's got four hundred years on you two. That makes her much stronger and much faster than either of you. If she wanted me dead, she would have killed me the night we saved Damon from the fire and found out she had chopped John's fingers off. She was in my house with me; Jeremy was in transition and John was unconscious on the kitchen floor. She had the perfect opportunity to kill me right then and there. But she didn't. If she wanted to rip my throat out in front of you and Damon, I'd be dead right now instead of writing this letter and my blood would be covering your living room. Damon's told me himself that if she wanted me dead, there would be nothing he could do to stop her. And he's the strongest vampire I know. So obviously she doesn't want me dead._

_I'm descended from her. Isobel is descended from her. Katherine is the one that sent Isobel to Damon. I'm sure of it. I think Katherine has this thing about family. And we all know she loves toying with people. I'm tired of being her pawn and I won't put up with it any longer. She won't kill me. She's had plenty of opportunity to do so and she hasn't._

_Anyways, I'm tired of having you shove your decisions down my throat and lying to me all the time. So we're through for good. I'm cutting my losses and moving on with my life. I'm going to explore this thing I have with Damon. He has never lied to me. He let's me make choices. And he has __never__ walked away when the road got rough. I'm going to see where this thing with him goes. And we are leaving Mystic Falls for a while. I don't know how long we'll be gone. Don't try to track us down. Jenna's already approved of this trip and she knows a little of what's been happening between the three of us. She may not like that I want to move on from you with your brother, but she said she won't force her opinions on me. Goodbye, Stefan._

_Sincerely,_

_Elena_

I sigh as I pull the pen away from the paper. I dig out an envelope from one of the drawers in my desk, fold the letter up, and tuck it and the necklace into the envelope. I write Stefan's name on the front and seal it shut. Then I pull out another sheet of paper and write a new note to Jenna.

_Hey, Jenna,_

_I decided to take your advice and hit the road with Damon. I don't know when we'll be back, but don't worry. I've got my phone and I'll call you as often as I can. I'll be taking my camera and I'll take a ton of pictures and mail them to you with letters describing the places we visit. In the envelope is a letter to Stefan and the necklace he gave me. I'd like you to give the envelope to him next time you see him and make sure to tell him he's no longer welcome in our house. I'll miss you so much but I think this road trip will do me some good. It'll get me away from all the stress and worry that's been pulling me down since Mom and Dad died. When I'm ready to face life again, Damon will bring me home. Until then, wish us luck with our travels. With the way my luck's been running, we'll need all the good luck we can get._

_Love ya,_

_Elena_

_P.S. You need to relax and let loose as well, Jenna. I'm sure Rick will be a big help with that. In case you haven't noticed, you're no longer the legal guardian of two teenagers. Jeremy's moved to the boarding house and I'm about to hit the road with Damon. It's time for you to get your own life instead of always worrying about us. We'll be fine. We're a lot more mature than most people our age and all I see ahead of us is even more growing up as we live our lives and become independent adults. You'll always be our aunt and our friend. But I realize now just how much you've put on hold to take care of us. Try getting Rick to move in. It'll be less lonely for the both of you if you do. Don't worry about telling Jeremy that I've left, I'll call him sometime tomorrow with the news._

"Or we could take him with us," Damon suggests from behind me.

I chuckle. "Are you sure about that?" I ask. "Looking after a newborn when you could be spending quality time with me?"

"Hey, I didn't say he had to be in the same room with us. I plan on going first class on this trip, and the suites I normally stay in have multiple bedrooms," he retorts.

I roll my eyes. "I'll tell her then," I say, putting the pen to paper again.

_P.P.S. Actually, Damon decided that we'll take Jer with us. At least he won't be around Stefan during his ultimate brood-fest. So don't worry about me and Jer. Damon will be taking care of us. He'll make sure we all come back in one piece. Love you, Jenna. And don't forget to live your life while we're living ours. Rick will be a big help with that, I'm sure._

"Okay, time to get packed," I say, pushing myself away from the desk.

"I'll call Jeremy and let him know," Damon volunteers.

"Won't Stefan find out?" I ask, worried.

"Relax, Stefan ran into the forest as soon as I got you outta there. He hasn't hunted much this week, so he'll be there for a while yet," Damon says soothingly, pulling out his phone.

I smile as Damon calls Jeremy. As he begins telling my brother the plan, I pull a suitcase from under my bed and begin packing a week's worth of clothing as well as my diary and a couple of spare ones. I add in my ice blue bikini, the exact shade of Damon's eyes, which I had bought soon after I met Damon. Stefan _hated_ it on sight. I didn't care. I roll my eyes when Damon insists on stuffing my teddy bear into the suitcase as well, though I can't help the smile on my lips. I finally zip up my suitcase and head into the bathroom I used to share with Jer to pack my toiletries in a travel bag I keep under the sink.

I carry the bag back into my room just as Damon hangs up with Jer. "He's all for getting out of this town," he tells me.

"That's good," I say with a smile.

"You aren't even torn up about all this," he comments in awe.

I sigh. "It's been a long time coming, Damon," I whisper. "Ever since I found her picture, I just _knew_ that I'd have to just let him go one day and move on. Love without trust isn't love at all. It's time I accept the inevitable: Stefan was never really mine. He wouldn't have held onto her picture all these decades if he didn't still feel something for her."

I feel his wry amusement. "Even _I_ didn't take a picture of her to hold onto," he admits. "I was the first to go through her things, before we were turned and after." He senses my surprise. "Hey, boys get just as curious as girls," he chuckles.

"I should let you in on a secret I haven't told _anyone_ except Bonnie," I say softly, turning to him. His eyebrows shoot to his hairline and I feel an echo of his surprise. I've confided many of my secrets with him. But this is one I've been so damned scared of accepting.

He puts a hand on my shoulder as he feels the turmoil I feel at sharing this one. "You don't have to tell me," he says. "Not if it's putting you through so much pain getting up the courage to share it."

"Damon, I've wanted to become a vampire since a week after I found out your secret," I blurt out. He reels back in shock, stunned speechless. And that's saying something. "Bonnie was in on the secret by then and I took a lapis lazuli ring I picked out to her to get her or Sheila to enchant it for me to be my daylight ring, explaining to both of them what my choice was. Sheila's the one who took it. As soon as she touched it, she had a vision. She said I wouldn't need it for a while, but I _would_ need it one day. The next day, I brought up the subject to Stefan by asking him about the turning process. That was the first time he broke my heart. He got furious that I was asking. He _told_ me it wasn't something I wanted, that he would _never_ turn me. Sheila had told me that the choice would still be mine, but that the one who turned me wasn't who I thought it would be. After you brought me home this afternoon and left again, Bonnie showed up in a raging fury. She told me that she had just had two visions. One of what happened with Stefan. That's what she was raging about. And the other was what her grams must have seen. She _gave_ me the ring and told me it was already enchanted. She warned me to come back before my lack of aging became apparent. Until now, I didn't understand what she or Sheila had been talking about."

"What do you mean?" he whispers, and I can feel his reluctance to even _dare_ to hope.

"I _mean_ that Sheila saw _you_ turning me all those months ago, when you were still enthralled by Katherine. Bonnie saw you turning me on this road trip we are about to go on," I reply softly.

He backs up and sits down hard on my bed. His shock and wonder at this news rage within me. "The ring?" he asks finally, voice soft.

I reach into my jeans pocket and pull out the ring with a lapis lazuli that matches the shade of his eyes. "I want you to put this on my finger, as a promise," I say softly, walking it over and gently placing it in his hand, curling his fingers around it.

"A promise?" he whispers.

"A promise that, when the time is right, you won't hesitate in turning me," I tell him with a small smile.

"When will the time be 'right'?" he asks.

"We'll _know_ when it comes," I assure him. "For now, I need another time-out." I smile when he gives a wry grin at that. "And let's make this one last more than 'five minutes'."

"As you wish," he agrees, grabbing my suitcase and standing up.

I take the envelope and my note to Jenna and carry them to her room to place them on her nightstand. I breathe in the subtle scent of Jenna's favorite perfume, the one that Rick is constantly complimenting. I don't know how long it will be before I smell it again. At last, I sigh and leave her room, shutting the door behind me.

"You know, you only packed a week's worth of clothes," he points out as he follows me downstairs.

I roll my eyes. "We can always stop at a Laundromat or a dry-cleaners every so often," I remind him, my hand on the front door knob.. "Hell, you lived out of the trunk of your car for years at a time. You're too damned fastidious to put up with wearing dirty clothes more than you absolutely _have_ to. You had to have stopped once in a while to get them clean. I'm sure the three of us can manage the same for however long this time-out lasts."

"You know, it's a little weird hearing you say 'the three of us' and _not_ having Stefan be one of that number," he drawls. I let out a wry chuckle. "Are you going to open the door anytime soon? You and I both know you don't have what it takes to get through saying goodbye before being gone for an indeterminate amount of time. Not after a day like today."

I sigh and turn the knob, pulling open the door. Damon immediately heads to his car to put my suitcase in the trunk while I lock up. I make my way to the passenger side of the Camaro; but as I open the door, I turn to look at my home one last time, trying to burn the image into my brain so that I won't forget. Finally, I sigh and climb into the car, fastening my belt after shutting the door.

"We'll come back, Elena. I promise that we _will_ come back," he says softly as he starts the engine.

"You've never broken a promise you made me," I realize softly, adjusting my seat.

"I don't break promises, period," he admits, pulling out of my drive. He shifts gears and starts driving through town towards the boarding house. "Your brother is going to meet us at the foot of the drive, with his suitcase and a bag with his toiletries as well as a bag with mine. I already keep several changes of clothes in the trunk just in case."

"In case of what?" I ask, smiling as I lean forward to play with the radio.

"You know, just in case," he replies casually. I toss him a disbelieving look before returning to trying to find a good radio station, sending a flood of disbelief at him through our jewelry. "Fine," he sighs dramatically. "I've always kept several changes in the trunk ever since I got this car. I've rarely stayed in one place for more than a few months at a time. The longest I went was spending most of the seventies in New York City. And I only did that because even then, that city was still one of the biggest cities in the entire country."

I get a sudden idea as he talks. "Let's go to New York on this road trip," I say impishly, settling on a station playing country music from the nineties. I silently thank God that Damon has Sirius radio in his car. We won't have to keep trying to find a new station as we leave the area our station covers.

He laughs as he pulls to a stop at the foot of the long driveway leading to the boarding house. Jeremy walks out of the woods carrying a suitcase and two toiletry bags. Damon has me pop the trunk for my brother and Jeremy stuffs the baggage into the trunk between our things. Damon gets out so that Jer can climb in the back, then quickly gets behind the wheel as soon as Jer is settled.

"So, where we going?" Jer asks, leaning forward. I smack his hand as he reaches for the radio. "Seriously, Lena? Nineties country?" he demands.

"I don't have a problem with it," Damon says, flashing him a smirk in the rearview. "That was the best era of country music." He shifts gears and turns around in the drive to head back toward the highway. "You're sister wants to go to New York."

"I'm cool with that," Jer says.

I turn in my seat so that I can glare at both vampires. "No feeding on the humans. Steal from blood banks all you want. Hell, I'll help. Just don't feed from live humans."

Damon smirks. "What about _you?"_ he asks, doing the 'eye thing' I both love and hate.

I fight down the butterflies that flood into my stomach as they do every damn time he does the 'eye thing'. He smirks, because he can sense those butterflies. "That depends on how you're behaving," I tell Damon, turning to face forwards again.

He chuckles throatily, pulls the car into a U-turn, and makes for the highway. I can almost _feel_ Jeremy's confusion. "What's going on between the two of you?" my vampire brother demands. "I mean, I understand that Elena and Stefan are quits for good, but _you two?"_

"What about it?" Damon ask, winking at me.

"Well, considering _I'm_ going to be on the road _with_ you two, I _really_ don't need to listen in while you two go at it!" Jeremy exclaims. "She's my _sister!"_

I roll my eyes and open my mouth to reply but Damon beats me to it. "We're going first class all the way for this trip," Damon says wryly. "We'll be staying at four- and five-star hotels and have the best suites available, which means you'll get your own room while we have ours. Trust me, kid, you'll be too busy enjoying the good life to even _notice_ what we're up to."

Jeremy huffs. It's my turn to speak up. "Would you rather we turn around and take you back to the boarding house so you can endure Stefan's ultimate brood-fest when he finds out I've left town with Damon?" I ask sweetly, turning towards my brother. I can sense the effort it's taking Damon to keep from bursting out laughing.

If I didn't know just how impossible it is, I'd swear on my life that Jeremy had turned even paler at the thought. "God no!" he yelps. "It's bad enough already! I _don't_ want to be within five miles of _that!"_

"Then be quiet and enjoy the music," I say, turning back to face the front. I reach my left hand over and pry Damon's right hand from the steering wheel so that I can lace our fingers together. I get an echo of his emotions, which are a match for my own: this is what it feels like to be home, no matter where we are. The three of us can make this work, I'm sure of it.


	2. The Road to the Capital

Rocks and Hard Places  
DG32173

Sarah: I didn't say this last chapter, but I will this chapter: the jewelry I had Damon give Elena – the set that had belonged to his mother – and Damon's pendent belong to me, and so do the enchantments placed on the jewelry. Please don't use them without asking me first and waiting for my permission. I _don't_ own Golden Corral… but I love their buffet! Also, I don't own any songs mentioned here. The lyrics used are from the song _"We Are Together"_ from the end of the movie Grease. Considering how damn old that movie is, I'm quite certain that it's safe to use the lyrics. I don't own any of the songs referenced here nor do I own Wal-Mart. I'm just using the layout of my local Wal-Mart. Anyways, I hope anyone still reading enjoys this chapter too.

_**REVIEW REPLIES**_

_kfulmer7:_ yes, the shared emotions through their jewelry _will_ be an awesome part of their sex-life. I'm so glad you think that her thoughts and their emotions had a lot of detail. And yes, I'm also glad that Jeremy's going along, though he's going to be a _big_ cockblocker at times.

_rcardinals4:_ yes, the jewelry is interesting. I made it up myself and I even made up the designs myself because I have _never_ been able to find pictures of jewelry like the ones I imagined. And yep, they're going to explore and have fun and Jeremy's going to be a _big_ cockblocker at times.

* * *

Chapter 2  
The Road to the Capital

"So, where are we going to stay tonight?" Jeremy asks from the backseat.

I feel Damon's smugness at whatever his reply is and I silently send him an urge to share. He rolls his eyes at me. "We're going to stay in Washington for a few days before continuing on to New York," he tells us.

"Washington? As in Washington, D.C.?" Jeremy demands, suddenly very excited as he leans forward between the seats.

"Well, the only other Washington I know is on the other side of the country and is a state," Damon says dryly.

"Can we go to Arlington?" Jeremy requests.

"I'll give you two a grand tour. I happen to have known a number of the soldiers buried in Arlington," Damon says, grinning.

"How?" Jeremy asks eagerly.

"The civil war wasn't the only war I've been in," Damon replies, chuckling. "I've fought in both World Wars as well as Desert Storm, Vietnam, and, most recently, the War with Iraq that's going on now."

"You've seen a lot of combat," I remark.

"Well, America is my home. I was born and raised here. I've even spent most of my life as a vampire here. Don't get me wrong, I've done a lot of travelling over the decades. But I always come back to the states," Damon tells us. "I'll defend this country with everything I've got."

"I wish I could have been a soldier," Jeremy says wistfully.

"It's not all glory and honor, kid," Damon says. "I wasn't the only vampire fighting for the country they called home. Vampires fighting in the wars for their country prey on the enemy. And if that wasn't enough, mankind's come up with war toys that are just as deadly to vampires as they are to humans. They're called bombs. Sure, we're fast and powerful. But if you step on a landmine, you're just as dead as if you were human. That or you're losing body parts that were caught in the blast. Sure, they'll grow back, but it takes time and _lots_ of blood."

"Have you ever been within range of a bomb?" Jeremy asks curiously.

"I have not. But I've had a lot of close calls. I've also been tortured as a war prisoner in countries that _know_ about vampires, witches, and warlocks and _know_ we're not just a part of folklore. Not fun," Damon says.

"How'd you get away?" I ask.

"My jailors had grown careless after a while. I got out and rescued as many fellow Americans as I could find," Damon says with a shrug.

The look on his face and the emotions echoing from him through our jewelry tell me not to push it. Jeremy seems to get that vibe, too. I glance at the clock on the dash and find that it's going on six. "Can we stop for some human food soon? I haven't had anything since the sandwich I had for lunch," I tell Damon. "I'm hungry."

Damon chuckles and motions to the passing billboards. "Take your pick of restaurants," he says. "We're nearing Fredericksburg."

Jeremy's the first to spot the sign to the restaurant we both love. "Golden Corral! Elena, they have a Golden Corral!" he says eagerly.

"Can we go there? Please, Damon?" I beg.

Damon shakes his head at our excitement. "Fine," he says.

"Yes!" Jeremy and I cheer simultaneously.

"Don't go trying to feed on the humans, kid," Damon warns Jeremy. "I'm trusting you enough to bring you out into the world in places that don't know your name and face. Screw-ups out here will only piss off your sister. Take those screw-ups back to Mystic Falls and you're dead and you'll probably take Blondie, Steffie, and I down with you."

"I didn't happen to bring any blood bags when I packed our stuff," Jeremy says uncertainly.

"Elena, look in the glove compartment and get him a blood bag," Damon says. "While you're at it, get me one too."

I sigh and free my hand from his so that I can open the glove compartment. Damon takes that moment to turn off the interstate while I get out a couple of blood bags and count the ones left. "You only have two more after these," I tell Damon as I pass one to my brother. Then I rip off the valve on the one in my hand before passing it to Damon.

"Thanks," he says. "And, yeah, I know. We're going to have to make a pit stop in Fredericksburg for a cooler, ice, drinks, munchies, and then find a hospital so I can teach your brother how to raid a blood bank. You're tagging along, too, Elena."

I'm startled at that. "Why?" I ask.

"Well, if you're going to go through with the turn into a vampire, you'll have to learn how to raid a blood bank. It'll be a lot easier to teach you while I'm teaching him. If worst comes to worst, you can always play decoy," Damon says between sips of his blood.

"And how am I supposed to do _that?"_ I demand. "I highly doubt we'll be in the same area as the ER. And I don't happen to have on a patient's armband."

"You're smart, Elena," Damon says wryly. "You'll think of something." I hear Jeremy slurp the last of the blood from hi blood bag. "There's a black garbage bag down in the floorboard back there, kid. Put your trash in there," Damon says, finishing his blood bag. He hands the empty bag to me. "Elena, pass this and that valve to him so he can do the same with it."

I obediently pass the stuff to Jeremy, who stuffs all the trash in the black bag. "We almost there?" Jeremy asks. "I'm getting restless back here."

I roll my eyes at Damon's annoyance. "He's _always_ like this on road trips," I tell him. "It's remarkable, really. He can sit still for ten to twelve hours at a time with his sketchpad but he can't handle being stuck in a car for long."

"I don't have anything to _do_ in a car," Jeremy complains.

"Keep up the 'are we there yet' mantra, and I'll be more than willing to snap your neck to shut you up for a few hours," Damon tells my brother, turning into Golden Corral's parking lot. He quickly finds a parking spot.

Damon and I climb out, then Damon lets Jeremy out of the backseat. I meet the at the front of the Camaro after Damon locks up. I take Damon's hand and lace our fingers together. He flashes a grin at me before escorting me inside. Jeremy follows us in. Damon grabs a tray and we get into line.

"What would you like to drink?" the guy at the drink section of the counter asks.

"Sweet tea," I reply.

"Same," Damon says.

"Me too," Jeremy adds.

We get our drinks in some big plastic cups with a lid that we can take with us. Jeremy and I move so we can see Damon's face and we both burst out laughing. "What's with the cups?" Damon demands as we move up in the line.

"Is plastic not good enough for you?" Jeremy teases. "Cause if it's not, I'll take your drink."

"Not if I get it first," I tell my brother.

"It's _my_ drink." Damon protests.

"Then suck it up, Damon," I tell him. "You're drinking from a plastic cup tonight. There's a huge collection of them in one of the kitchen cabinets from all the times Mom and Dad took Jer and I to the Golden Corral in Richmond."

"I noticed," Damon says dryly. We stop in front of the cashier and Damon pays for our meal. That's when he sees all the different bars. "Less than forty bucks for eating as much of all that as we want?" he asks, floored.

"Yep. C'mon, let's go find a table," I tell him.

"You mean, we get to pick our own table?" Damon asks, even more surprised.

Jeremy laughs. "Yep," he replies. "C'mon, man, lets get moving. You're so not used to family restaurants, are you?"

"This is the first time I've been to one," Damon admits.

"Well, Golden Corral is one of the few family-style restaurants where you can seat yourself," I say, grabbing one of Damon's elbows. Jeremy grabs Damon's other elbow and we guide him to a table in the section across from the desert bar. I set out our tea so that Damon and I are next to each other and Jeremy's across from me. "Okay, set the tray here at the edge and leave the receipt on it so that our waitress can sign it. Now we can go fix our own plates."

"Where are the plates?" Damon asks.

"Up next to the bars," I say, pointing out the ones by the desert bar. "I'll see you guys when I get back," I tell them, keeping my purse on my shoulder as I make my way all the way to the opposite end of the restaurant to start with a large salad with some sliced fruit on the side. As I'm carrying it back to my table _"I'm Still a Guy"_ by Bard Paisley starts playing from my purse. I roll my eyes and ignore my phone. If Jeremy wants to talk to me, he can wait until we're back at the table to do so. I set my plate down and take my seat just before the guys return. _"I'm Still a Guy"_ is still playing and Jeremy glares at me as he takes his seat across from me.

"Are you going to answer your phone?" Damon asks, raising an eyebrow at me as he sits next to me..

I smirk and point at my brother with my fork. "If he wants to talk, he can talk in person. I'm not going to answer my phone," I tell Damon with a sweet smile.

Damon coughs to cover up a laugh, which earns him a glare from my brother. "Seriously, Elena, you made my ringtone _that?"_ Jeremy demands, pulling out his phone and ending the call.

"What were you expecting?" I ask before stuffing a mouthful of salad into my mouth.

"I don't know, but I wasn't expecting _country!"_ Jeremy complains.

I examine their plates while I chew my salad. Jeremy had gone straight for the home style baked macaroni and cheese and filled his whole plate with it. Damon had gone for pork ribs, pepperoni pizza, and corn on the cob.

I roll my eyes. "You two had better be glad you can't gain weight because you'd get fat off your food," I tell them. Damon rolls his eyes while eating his corn on the cob. Jeremy chuckles before spooning up a mouthful of macaroni and cheese. "Starches and fats," I sigh.

"You've filled your whole _plate_ with rabbit food," Jeremy sneers.

I chuckle. "This is just the first plate. I figured I'd start off healthy and progressively get more and more unhealthy until its time for desert."

"Why _did_ you park us right next to the fountains?" Jeremy says, looking over my shoulders pitifully. "And why did _I_ have to sit facing them?"

"If _I_ sat facing them, I'd gain weight every time I looked up," I tell him. "And you're across from me in case I have to kick you to remind you of your manners."

"Do you two _always_ argue whenever you're eating at the same table?" Damon asks curiously.

"This isn't arguing," I tell him with a grin. "This is just how we are with each other when we're both in a good mood." I stuff a forkful of salad in my mouth.

"I'd hate to see it when you two _aren't_ in a good mood," Damon mutters.

"Think of how you and Stefan get when your upset with each other but not quite to the point of physical blows coming into play," Jeremy says.

"Gotcha," Damon says.

"We've only ever gotten into _one_ no-holds-bar brawl with each other," I say when I clear my mouth. "Remember it, Jeremy? Two summers ago?"

Jeremy groans. "Yeah, _you_ sent _me_ to the hospital with a broken nose, my left arm was put in a sling because you sprained my wrist, and I even had to have a cast on my right foot because you broke a number of the bones in it by slamming a fucking _fire extinguisher_ on it. I had to be in a wheelchair for weeks because you don't fight fair," he complains. "Oh, and don't forgot the double black eye and the dislocated left shoulder."

"You're the one who started the fight," I point out. "I told you that you didn't want to push me that day." I turn to Damon. "I got off rather lightly. He broke my thumb and pinky finger on my right hand and my left middle finger. I also pulled a muscle in my right shoulder wielding that fire extinguisher. That's about it other than a bunch of bruises and scratches. You _so_ need to teach him how to fight. He fights like a girl, all hair-pulling and clawing at his opponent. I whooped his ass that day."

"I'm starting to think you actually know how to hold your own against a human," Damon tells me with a chuckle. He turns to Jeremy. "Seriously, pulling _hair?_ What is _wrong_ with you? Where's your _manhood?"_

Jeremy sighs. "Dude, she's my _sister,"_ Jeremy points out. "I didn't think she'd actually go all-out on me and by the time I realized what was going on, I was already down for the count. Dad came just in time to save me from getting hit upside the _head_ with that fire extinguisher."

"Dad was all 'that's enough, Elena. You've already shamed the poor kid, no need to knock him out, too'," I say gleefully. "Mom was a bit more upset because we totally destroyed the living room. All that furniture in there now, even the TV and PS3, were replacements for the stuff we annihilated. She took it the money out of our hides for the rest of the summer."

"But, seriously, a _fire extinguisher?"_ Damon asks, highly amused.

"In the self-defense classes we were enrolled in, we were first taught that _anything_ can be a weapon to use against your opponent. Some things you need to get a bit more creative to find a way to use as a weapon than others. I went through an PS3 controller cord, the TV and BluRay remotes, the fireplace poker, and a number of other things laying around. He had a _ton_ of paper cuts from the magazines I demolished to use the pages as knives. The fire extinguisher was the last weapon in my vast arsenal because it was also the heaviest and most awkward. But I didn't go so far as to use my nails or tug at his hair." Damon shakes his head and his awe echoes at me through our jewelry. I stuff the last bite of my salad in my mouth while Damon just stares at me like he had never seen me before. I set my plate to the outside of the table. "Well, I'm going for my next plate," I tell them. "You two better finish your food before it turns to ice. Damon, when you're done, just stack your plate on top of mine and grab a new plate for your next trip to the bars."

With that I walk to the hot bar and grab a new plate, a smile on my face as I sense his disgust at discovering his food had gotten cold. I load up my plate with macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes and gravy, steamed carrots, sweet peas, black-eyed peas, and a slice of pepperoni pizza before heading back to the table. I see that both my brother and Damon are gone from the table, their half-eaten plates from the last round stacked on top of mine. I smirk. 'That's the good thing about getting a salad on the first round. There's usually a lot of talking and you don't need to worry about hot food growing cold,' I think, taking my seat and setting my plate down. I take a swallow of my tea, closing my eyes briefly in bliss.

Suddenly, _"Dangerous"_ by Cascada starts playing from my purse. I roll my eyes and ignore it. Apparently this is 'find out what ringtone Elena gave me' night because first Jeremy called me and now Damon, though they are both here with me. Well, I can play that game, too. I pick up my pizza and take a big bite out of it. Damon slides into his chair next to me, hitting 'cancel call' on his phone. My phone goes silent. "You think I'm dangerous?" he asks with a smirk.

I just shrug and motion that my mouth is full. I continue eating my food, ignoring Damon's increasingly frustration at my refusal to respond. Jeremy slides into his seat across from me. I smirk at him and reach into my purse and press the second speed dial button.

"_We go together like ramma lamma lamma ka dinga da dinga dong  
Remembered forever as shoo-bop sha whada whadda yippidy boom da boom  
Chang chang changity chang shoo bop that's the way it should be  
Waooo Yeah"_

Damon stares at my brother like he's grown a second head. In fact, a _lot_ of people are turning towards are table to stare at us. And I'd swear that if it were possible for vampires to blush, Jeremy would be turning crimson right now. "What the _hell,_ Elena?" Jeremy demands, quickly digging his phone out of his pocket and hitting ignore.

I laugh. "You did it to me," I point out. I turn to Damon. "You're next," I warn. I get an echo of Damon's horror as I press the first speed dial on my phone.

"_Helpless When She Smiles"_ by Backstreet Boys plays from Damon's back pocket. He groans and pulls his phone out to hit ignore. "Seriously, Elena?" Damon asks incredulously.

"You two did it to me," I point out. I turn to Jeremy. "Seriously, _Grease?"_

Jeremy shrugs. "You said _Grease_ and _Grease 2_ are your favorite musicals and that was your favorite song from _Grease,"_ he replies.

"How'd you even _find_ it?" I demand.

"It took a while and a _lot_ of working out the proper wording I needed to find it," he admits.

"You so have to share that. I _want_ that song," I tell him, grinning.

"That song makes absolutely _no sense,"_ Damon groans.

"It's hilarious," I say with a laugh. "Food's getting cold," I remind them, picking up my spoon.

Damon's third plate is his dessert, which is banana pudding, two pieces of fudge, a brownie, and a bowl of mixed ice cream with a little bit of every topping offered. Jeremy and I keep making trips to and from the other bars, leaving Damon staring at us in awe after the fifth trip each. Or was it sixth? I lost track. "How are you two not _full?"_ he demands. "I'm getting sick just _watching_ you stuff all that food down your throats!" Jeremy and I exchange a look, mutually agree that he'll never understand, and continue on eating. "I saw that look!" Damon growls.

"Damon, we're teenagers," Jeremy points out. "Teenagers tend to eat a _lot."_

"I know that, but you two are eating so much that our bill was _nothing_ compared to it!" Damon says, his awe quickly fading into incredulousness.

"I'm for a few rounds of desert after this," Jeremy tells me, stuffing his last bite of pizza in his mouth.

"Okay," I say with a grin. "Save some for me."

"A few _rounds?"_ Damon asks weakly.

"Oh, we usually try to eat a little bit of everything that's on the desert bar. That requires a few trips," I tell him before stuffing my last bite of my third salad into my mouth before setting my plate with Jeremy's. Damon's plates are long gone to be cleaned. I make my way back to the hot bar for more mac-and-cheese. Jeremy and I both _love_ Golden Corral's home-style baked mac-and-cheese **(me too!)**. We always tend to pig out big time whenever we come to Golden Corral. And neither of us has ever gotten sick from it. I pile my plate up with mac-and-cheese and carry it back to the table. I've noticed that I've been getting a lot of strange looks from the staff that work behind the hot bar. Apparently they're not used to seeing a girl with my figure eat so much. I take my place next to Damon and examine Jeremy's first plate of desert. He had gone for all chocolate: chocolate cake with chocolate icing, a large brownie, three pieces of fudge, two chocolate cookies, and chocolate pudding. I roll my eyes and dig into my mac-and-cheese.

Damon sighs and I get an echo of how ill he's feeling just _watching_ us eat. I ignore it and continue to eat. "Relax, Damon," I tell him when that uneasy feeling he's echoing continues to increase. "We have _never_ gotten sick after Golden Corral. And Jeremy's actually started on desert a lot sooner than he normal does. Normally it would take at _least_ three more plates for him to decide it's time for desert."

Damon groans. "If it weren't completely impossible for vampires to throw up unless they forced themselves to, I'd be running for the nearest toilet right now," he mutters. "You two are making me regret my third plate."

I roll my eyes. "You're being a wimp, Damon," I mock.

"I am not!" he protests vehemently. "You two have bottomless stomachs. That's the _only_ possible reason neither of you look the least bit ill! Just watching you two gorge yourselves like this is nauseating!"

I exchange another look with my brother and we shake our heads at each other before we continue to eat. I polish off my mac-and-cheese and set my plate to the side. "Okay, desert bar, here I come," I say with much anticipation as I push myself out of my chair and go to the bar. I grab a plate and contemplate what I want first. I decide to grab some banana pudding, some chocolate pudding, a piece of chocolate cake with chocolate icing, a large brownie, and a cone of blue cotton candy. I carry my prizes back to our table.

"No way! I didn't see the cotton candy!" Jeremy protests. "I have to get me a cone next trip."

Forty-five minutes later, nearly three and a half hours after we entered the door, Jeremy and I finally let Damon talk us into leaving, _much_ to his relief. "I have to say, I now have a healthy respect for your appetites," Damon admits as we walk out the door. "Did you two even _notice_ the looks the staff was giving you as you kept going to the bars again and again and _again?"_

"I did get some strange looks," I admit.

"Yeah, I noticed I got a few looks myself," Jeremy concedes as we arrive at the Camaro.

Damon shakes his head. "I have a feeling that the manager was seriously contemplating having us pay a little more because _none_ of them had ever seen a couple of kids put away that much food without getting sick," he tells us, unlocking the car. He let's Jeremy climb in the backseat while I make myself comfortable in the front passenger, shutting my door and buckling my seatbelt. Once Jeremy's safely tucked in the backseat, Damon sets the driver's seat upright again and climbs in.

As Damon pulls out of the parking lot to, _"Bye Bye Bye"_ by *NSync starts playing from my purse. I groan. "Who's that?" Jeremy asks, his amusement very evident in his voice.

"Stefan," I mutter.

"You chose a breakup song for Stefan?" Damon asks, laughing.

"Yes," I grumble, silently willing the song to stop playing and signal Stefan's given up. It stops at the end of the song, signaling it's gone to voicemail. Two seconds later it starts over. I groan again and dig my phone out of my purse. I hit accept and put it to my ear. "What?" I snap.

"_Elena, don't be like that,"_ Stefan starts.

"I can be however I want," I tell him. "We're over, remember?"

"_Only until I can figure out a way to get rid of Katherine,"_ Stefan protests.

I laugh humorlessly. "That's rich. That's fucking rich," I say. "So you haven't been to my house, have you?"

"_Why would I?"_ Stefan asks, confused.

"I'll give you a hint: go to my house. Don't go through my window because it's locked. Go to the front door instead, but only if Jenna's home. She has an envelope for you from me. That will give you all the answers you need. Until you read the letter that's in the envelope, don't call me back," I snap, hanging up as he tries to ask what I'm talking about. I then turn off my phone to avoid any further nuisance calls.

"Well, that was _fascinating_ to listen in on," Damon says, his immense amusement echoing at me through our jewelry.

"I agree," Jeremy says with a chuckle.

I toggle the light over my side of the car so that I can dig through my purse and find my IPod. I quickly find it and the cord I can use to both charge it in a car and listen to it from the car speakers. I plug it in and look through my playlists.. I finally decide on a collection of pop music from 2000 through 2009. I hit play, repeat, and shuffle. Then I turn off the light. All three of us burst out laughing as my IPod decides to play _"Bye Bye Bye"_ first.

"Maybe your IPod is trying to tell you something?" Jeremy suggests between giggles.

"That I need to get Stefan out of my life?" I ask around my laughter.

"I'll vote on that!" Damon adds, chuckling.

We keep laughing until the song ends because every time we begin to sober up, someone convulses into giggles again and that gets the others going. The next song, _"Sugar, We're Goin' Down"_ by Fall Out Boy, starts and we're _finally_ able to get ourselves back under control. "It shouldn't have been _that_ funny," I admit, gasping for breath.

"I kept trying to stop but then _you two_ got me going again," Damon protests, though I feel his continued amusement.

"You have to admit it was pretty hilarious Elena's ringtone for Stefan was the first song to come up after she just hung up on him," Jeremy says cheekily.

"True," Damon and I chorus. "Well, we still need to pick up some stuff," Damon continues. "First to Wal-Mart for the normal road trip stuff. Then to the hospital for the vampire road trip stuff."

"_Wal-Mart?"_ Jeremy asks incredulously. "I thought you were too good for stores like Wal-Mart."

"When it comes to clothing, yes. But you can buy just about anything there. So we're heading to Wal-Mart for munchies, drinks, a cooler, and a few bags of ice," Damon explains. "Kid, you better be prepared to share floor space with a big ass cooler and bags of munchies."

"I figured I'd have to share space with the cooler and the food," Jeremy says. "That stuff certainly won't fit up there."

Damon pulls into Wal-Mart's parking lot. I raise an eyebrow at him. "Have you been to Fredericksburg before? You aren't even asking for directions," I tell him.

"I've been here a few times," Damon admits, snagging a parking space close to the grocery entrance that had just been vacated. "Okay, everyone out," he says.

"I have to wait for one of you two to get out before I can," Jeremy points out. I roll my eyes, climb out, and shut my door. Damon climbs out and lets Jeremy out of the backseat before locking up and shutting his door. We all meet at the back of the car to enter Wal-Mart together. "You know, if it wasn't for your blue eyes, Damon, we'd actually look like a group of siblings," Jeremy says as we make our way inside.

Damon's response is to hit him in the back of the head. "The only way you're going to be calling me brother is if I marry Elena and become your brother-_in-law,"_ Damon retorts.

"I'm cool with that, except for the fact that it would in turn make Stefan my brother-in-law, too," Jeremy replies. "And _that_ would be annoying."

"It _is_ annoying being related to him," Damon chuckles.

"Okay, you two, enough," I say, grabbing a buggy. "We came to pick up some things. Let's pick them up and get out of here."

"And here I thought you'd be looking forward to a shopping trip," Jeremy says, feigning surprise.

"Stefan made me grumpy. Talking about Stefan makes me grumpier. So change the topic if you're going to keep talking," I reply. "First we start with the cooler. Let's get two."

"Where would they be kept?" Jeremy asks.

"I dunno," Damon replies.

I groan. "C'mon, idiots," I say, pushing the buggy towards the back of the store. "Coolers are generally kept in sporting goods, which is generally next to automotives for some reason. And that's generally located at the back of the store near the auto repair shop."

"Oh," they chorus, falling in step behind me.

"You used the word 'generally' three times," Damon says.

"That's because each Wal-Mart is setup differently, but most of them have the same general layout. Most, not all. Some are very peculiar in their setup compared to the majority of the stores," I reply, taking a left at the back aisle.

"I see the auto shop," Jeremy says. "It's at the far end of this aisle."

"Then sporting goods should be somewhere around there," I say, pushing the buggy forward and letting the boys follow behind me. "We're lucky it's so late. Otherwise this place would be crowded." Even with so few customers, it still takes a few minutes to traverse the distance to the other end of the store. As we get close, I see that I was right about where sporting goods are kept. I look down each aisle in sporting goods until I find the one with the coolers. "Let's get two," I say.

"Why?" Damon asks, baffled by my request.

"One for drinks, one for munchies," I reply.

The boys exchange a look and a shrug. We spend a few minutes comparing size and capacity of the different coolers before getting two of the largest, one red and one blue. "I'm not going to have much room in the back with these behemoths," Jeremy complains.

"Dude, you're a vampire," Damon replies. "You won't get cramps so deal with it."

"Okay, back to groceries," I say, turning the buggy around and pushing it down the long aisle back to groceries. "We'll start with sodas and work our way up."

Once we're in the area with sodas, the boys get in a heated debate over whether we should get Pepsi or Coke. I end the debate by grabbing a twelve-pack of each. I grab a twelve-pack of RC Cola for myself. Then we go over an aisle and grab a package holding twenty-four bottles of water. Jeremy sighs at that but otherwise holds his peace. Then we make our way to the chips aisle. Jeremy cleans it out of the medium-sized bags of Cheetos. I roll my eyes but don't comment since I like them, too. We also take out a good portion of the different flavors of Doritos as well as several bags of Fritos. We each grab out own bag of trail mix. I go for when with assorted nuts, raisins, and M&Ms. Jeremy goes for one with white chocolate, milk chocolate, dark chocolate, and peanut butter chips, raisins, and assorted nuts. Damon grabs one with pretzels, M&Ms, and mixed nuts. We then move on to the candy aisle. The boys go wild there but I put my foot down at grabbing a bit of everything. I tell them they can have three large bags of candy each. Damon complains that it's _his_ money that's paying for this. I glare at him and use my emotions to enforce my decision. He sighs and gives in. I pick out my three large bags of candy – white chocolate M&Ms, tropical skittles, and Reese's minis. I put them in the buggy. I notice that the guys had put their bags in the buggy and are eyeing the wall of Christmas candy with such longing that I decide to take pity on them and allow each of us two things from the Christmas candy side of the aisle. I grab a large box of Queen Anne chocolate-covered cherries and a giant solid dark chocolate Santa and add them to the buggy. I then wait as the boys roam up and down the aisle, examining the huge selection available before making their choices. Then I move us to the gum section because no road trip is complete without gum. I tell them to grab three three-packs of whatever gum they want. I go straight for the Juicy Fruit. Damon follows my example while Jeremy goes for cinnamon-flavored Extra. I don't take time to take in what they had selected as their candy.

"Okay, now on to where the cookies are kept," I say, pushing the buggy, which has become increasingly heavier as we filled it up. The guys fall in step behind me as I push the buggy up to the aisle that has freezers lining one side and bread lining most of the other with one end dedicated to pastries and cookies. Once there, we first grab a bunch of our favorite: I go for the honey buns with chocolate icing, Jeremy grabs a bunch of chocolate donuts holes with chocolate icing, and Damon zeroes in on the M&M cookies. Then we grab three of everything else, one for each of us.

"Okay, I think that does it," Damon says, looking at our overflowing shopping cart.

"Not quite. We're still missing three things," I tell him.

"What?" Jeremy asks.

"Jeremy, go grab some clips and twist ties. They'll be somewhere in the grocery section on something like this," I say, fingering a mini-rack hanging from the shelf with the donuts. "Damon, we need two large bags of ice for the cooler with the drinks and what we're picking up next," I say, being discreet because a lady just pushed her shopping cart past us. "The big freezer with the bags of ice should be near one of the exits. I'll meet you two up at the checkout."

They nod and take off at a trot to find what I told them to get. I turn the heavy buggy around and make my way up to find a checkout with a short line. Because of how late it is, I manage that immediately: checkout lane four is completely empty and is open. I move around to the front of the buggy and drag it in with me. I begin unloading the stuff onto the conveyer belt. Thankfully, we had managed to get the lids off the two coolers and put a good portion of the groceries in them. I lift out each cooler and carefully set them on the conveyer belt.

"Where you off to?" the guy working the register asks.

"My brother, my boyfriend, and I are going on a _really_ long road trip," I say with a smile. "We didn't really stock up for the trip before leaving Mystic Falls because we wanted to get out of town and away from my ex as fast as possible. So we decided that we'd stock up here after we had dinner at Golden Corral."

"Mystic Falls?" the guy asks in surprise, scanning item after item. "You're a long way from home."

"Gonna be even farther, soon," I reply.

Jeremy comes walking up with the twist ties and clips at the same time that Damon arrives with the ice. "I'll go get another shopping cart," Damon says, taking off for the grocery entrance at a jog after putting the bags of ice on the conveyer belt. He's back in less than a minute and starts carefully packing the scanned items in it while Jeremy browses the magazines at the other end of the counter.

"Anything good, Jer?" I ask my brother as I keep loading up the conveyer belt as free space is made.

"Nothing," Jer says after a moment. "I guess I could grab the Reader's Digest and we can laugh over the humor sections."

"Nothing's wrong with laughing," Damon replies.

"Okay then," Jer says, grabbing a copy of Reader's Digest and tossing it on the conveyer belt.

I notice Jeremy eyeing the candy and scowl at him. "Jeremy, we've got _enough_ sweets. Maybe next stock up you can get something different," I tell him.

He groans. "You're no fun, Lena," he complains.

"Really, kid, we've got plenty here. We don't need to add more to this," Damon points out, moving his buggy out of the way now that it's full and starting to fill mine up with the heavy stuff, including the ice and the coolers.

About fifteen minutes later, we walk out of Wal-Mart with nearly $300 in two buggies. When we get to Damon's car, we take the time to dig out the blue cooler, fill it with one bag of ice, then we rip open the three boxes of soda and start burying them in the ice on one side. We get about four of each type in before I call a halt to it, telling them to put the rest of the sodas in the trunk. Then I stuff six bottles of water into the other side of the cooler. I have them pour the rest of the ice in while I put the rest of the water bottles in the trunk with the soda. I then start sorting through the bags of food, putting the food we will share in the red cooler while the candy, cookies, and pastries we chose for ourselves are sorted into two double-bags each.. "Okay, Jer, you're gonna need to climb in the back first so Damon can pass the coolers to you," I say. Damon quickly unlocks the Camaro and tilts the seat forward so that Jeremy can climb in the back, which my brother does. I pass the blue cooler to Damon. "Tell him to sit that one in the floor space behind my seat," I tell him as he takes it.

"You heard her," Damon tells Jeremy as he eases the blue cooler into Jeremy's hands.

"You know, this would be so much easier if the roof was down," Jeremy complains. The car shifts back and forth slightly as Jeremy gets the cooler settled.

"Deal with it," Damon retorts.

"Okay, read for the next one," Jeremy says finally.

I pass the red cooler to Damon. "This one goes either on top of the drink cooler or on the seat next to it. Up to you on that one, Jer," I say as Damon passes it to Jeremy.

"I'll put it on the seat. I can handle not being able to stretch out. I don't want to be stretched out and have it falling on me," Jeremy says wryly.

I sort through the bags remaining. "Okay, these are Jeremy's bags," I say, passing them to Damon. He passes them to Jeremy. "I'll keep ours in the floorboard around my feet," I tell Damon, picking up the remaining bags. I had stuffed all the extra bags into one. I toss that one into the trunk before shutting it. I pick up the four goodie bags – two mine, two Damon's – and make my way around to the front passenger seat. I climb in while Damon puts the buggy on the yellow line on front of the car and is in the driver's seat before I finish buckling my seatbelt.

"Now to the hospital," Damon says, turning the key in the ignition.

My IPod turns on when the engine starts. _"Boulevard of Broken Dreams"_ by Green Day starts playing. I start singing along softly. Jeremy picks up on the second verse and Damon picks up on the third. By the time the song ends, we've pulled into a parking spot in the hospital. Damon waits for the very last note of the song to sound before turning off the car. "We need to listen to Green Day after this," Jeremy says.

"Good idea," Damon agrees, glancing at me.

I roll my eyes. "Fine, I'll go to my Green Day playlist when we get back," I tell them, opening my door and getting out with a smile. "You should be warned, the only playlist I have that has most of Green Day's songs in it also features a lot of Bon Jovi songs as well," I tell the boys when we meet at the front of the car. "I think there's also a All-American Rejects song on the list, _'Dirty Little Secret'."_

Damon chuckles. "Good taste," he remarks, wrapping an arm around my shoulder. "C'mon, kid. Time for Blood Bank Robbing 101," he continues, guiding me inside.

Jeremy sighs from right behind us. "Our parents are probably rolling over in their graves right now because we're about to rob a hospital of blood," he tells me.

"As if they haven't already rolled over a few times from us interacting with the supernatural world and you _joining_ the ranks of the undead," I point out.

"She has a point," Damon says, unable to stay out of any conversation for long.

"Anyways, you're showing us how this is done, Damon," I say. "It's your show."

"Showing _'us'_ how it's done?" Jeremy asks, immediately picking up on the key word.

"We'll explain later, kid," Damon says, tugging me through the front doors of the hospital before Jeremy can press the subject. Jeremy lets out a sigh of indignation but keeps up. We go up to the front desk.

"Can I help you?" the bored intern asks, studying her nails.

"Actually, you can," Damon says, pulling out the Salvatore charm as he takes his arm from around my shoulders to lean against the desk.

The girl looks up and meets Damon's eyes. Jeremy and I watch from either side as Damon easily captures the girl's eyes and mind in one fell swoop. "How can I help you?" she asks in that monotonous voice that a human under compulsion uses.

"You can tell us where the hospital keeps its supply of blood bags," Damon compels.

"Go all the way down the hall behind you and take the last right. You'll want the last room on the left," she replies.

"What blood type do you seem to have too much of? We just want to take some with us and my girl doesn't like it when I take what's needed by the hospital," Damon says conversationally.

"We've been having far more A-positive and AB-negative donors than we've had patients who need those blood types," she tells us. "We keep asking them to stop donating for now, but they keep appearing 'in case there's an emergency'. We're so stockpiled on those types that we're sending some to the other hospitals in the area tonight."

Damon and Jeremy both grimace. They both prefer the O-types in blood. Damon doesn't like A-types because he says it's too spicy and Jeremy can't _stand_ AB-types. He likens it to the taste of sour candy, which he also hates. "You're getting A-positive and I'll get AB-negative," Damon tells Jeremy. He turns back to the girl. "Now, will we need a key to get to the blood?" he asks.

"No. the board of this hospital decided that it's too dangerous to keep the blood locked up because when we did keep it locked, we were losing more patients in the time it took to get out the keys and unlock the door to the blood room and the refrigerators the blood is kept in. This new method of operation has been in place for two weeks and has been working quite well," the girl replies.

"Thank you," Damon starts, glancing at her name tag, "Rita. Now, you won't remember any of this nor will you 'notice' us leave. It will be like we were never here." Damon then shepherds us down the hall. "How lucky are we? Normally I have to hunt down someone with a key to blood room and the fridges the blood is kept in. Or at least make my way through a maze of doors that needs a staff member's id scanned to open."

"Don't go crowing just yet, Damon," I warn him. "You wouldn't want to jinx us, would you?"

"Of course not," Damon assures me as we take the last right turn. I feel Damon's Power uncurling from within him as he stretches his senses to check for potential witnesses. That's all the warning I get before he scoops me up and thanks to that warning, I managed to keep from yelping in surprise. "C'mon kid, we have to be fast. I have a feeling that delivery is going to be picked up soon." I bite my lip to keep from crying out as Damon and Jeremy vamp down to the blood room and through it's door. Damon sets me on my feet again before reaching into an inner pocket of his jacket and pulling out a small duffel bag. "Okay, Jeremy, find the fridge with A-positive and I'll look for AB-negative. Elena, hold the bag."

"Who's keeping watch?" I ask, taking the bag from him. I unfold and open it while the boys checks each of the eight fridges for the blood types we're stealing.

"If you keep _quiet,_ Jeremy and I can keep an ear out for anyone coming this way," Damon growls. I nod my understanding and hold the bag as they each find their fridges and start scooping up armfuls of blood bags to dump in the duffel bag I'm holding. I find myself wondering how my life got so insane that I can't bring myself to care that I'm standing in a hospital's blood room holding the duffel bag while my brother and my boyfriend raid the stockpile so that they can continue to stay 'alive' and not desiccate. I shake my head with a wry grin on my lips, deciding that my life has been messed up since the day I discovered that vampires are real and that my boyfriend at the time and his devastatingly handsome older brother are both vampires and have been for a hundred-and-forty-five years. And it just kept getting more and more messed up as the days passed. Now I find myself wondering what mythical creature _isn't_ real. Finally, Damon takes the full, heavy bag from my hand and zips it up. "Jeremy, grab your sister and let's get out of here," Damon says.

Jeremy scoops me up in his arms where I had expected him to _try_ to argue with Damon. "Drop me at vamp speed and you'll _wish_ I'd just stake you and end your miserable life," I warn him, wrapping my arms around his neck.

"Relax, Elena, I'm not going to drop you," Jeremy says, rolling his eyes at me.

Damon peeks out into the hall and signals the all-clear. Then it's all a blur of light and color as the boys race through the halls and out into the night air. They only slow down when we reach the Camaro. Jeremy carefully sets me back on my feet at my door before circling the car. Damon unlocks the car. I climb in while Damon leans his seat forward so Jer can climb in the back. I shut my door and buckle up. By the time my buckle is fastened, Jeremy's in the back and Damon is also in. "Stuff as much of that blood into the ice in the blue cooler as you can, but make sure there's an equal amount of each," Damon says, starting the car.

"You keep some of it in the glove compartment, so why does it have to stay cold?" Jeremy asks.

"Glove compartment is short term storage," Damon replies, pulling out of the hospital parking lot. I pay attention as I look through my playlists, searching for the one I promised we could listen to. "Blood needs to stay cold once it's taken out of the human up until point of consumption. Other wise it gets all congealed and _nasty._ It still keeps us going, but the taste is absolutely revolting. Like trying to eat hot vomit."

"Gross," Jeremy says disgustedly. "Well, do you need any blood bags for the glove compartment?"

"Pass three or four of mine to Elena so she can stash them," Damon replies.

I sigh, set my IPod in my lap, and turn to get the blood bags from Jeremy. He passes me four and I turn back around so I can stash them in the glove compartment. Then I pick my IPod back up and continue looking through my long list of playlists. "Jeez, Lena, how many playlists do you have?" Jeremy asks.

"A _lot,"_ I reply.

"Apparently," Damon mutters.

"Found it!" I crow. I hit play, shuffle, and repeat before setting my IPod on the dash. Right off the bat _"Dirty Little Secret"_ by The All-American Rejects starts playing. I immediately start singing along. Damon and Jeremy pick up after a few lines. Damon and I even get so into it that we lean towards each other every time we sing 'I'll be your dirty little secret'. Right after that song comes _"It's My Life"_ by Bon Jovi, one of my personal favorites. And apparently it's one of theirs, too, because they both bite off exclamations of joy before joining me in singing along. I keep singing with them as the miles and hours go by. At least until my singing is more yawns than words. It just shows how well my IPod knows me that the song playing is _"Wake My Up When September Ends"_ by Green Day.

"Get some sleep, Elena," Damon suggests as I valiantly try to keep my eyes open. "We'll take care of you. If you're still asleep when we get to the hotel, we'll get you and the stuff in."

"M'kay," I mumble sleepily, making myself comfortable. Which is to say that I unfasten my seatbelt so I can curl up on the seat with my head in Damon's lap.

Damon sighs. "You just love making things more difficult for me," he tells me, taking a hand from the wheel to stroke his fingers through my hair. I mumble something that doesn't make sense to even my own ears before drifting off to sleep, feeling safe, relaxed, and loved.

* * *

Sarah: well, that was _way_ harder to get out than it should have been. I hope everyone who's reading this enjoyed what I wrote. Also, do review and tell me if you want to see Damon's version of this fanfic. I'm working on it now, but I'm still undecided about posting it. If you ask _really_ nice, I might even do a sister-fic from Jeremy's view. Anyways, off to the third chapter.


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